Chapter 2 new house

"Because I don't like turning off the lights in all the rooms every night now." Bruno admitted that he did complain. "But everyone has to do it," said the mother, "and it will keep us safe. Who knows, maybe we'll be safer when we move. Now, you go upstairs and help Maria pack your things." I think we don't have much time to prepare, and that's really thanks to someone." Bruno nodded and walked away sadly.He knew that "someone" was a word adults used to refer to "father" that he couldn't use himself. He walked up the stairs slowly, holding on to the banister with one hand, wondering whether the new house in the new place where his father worked had such a good handrail.For the handrail stretched from the top floor—the little room where he could see the whole of Berlin from the window when he stood on tiptoe and grasped the window frame—to the first floor, and the end of the handrail faced two huge oak doors. .There's nothing more fun for Bruno than sliding down a handrail from start to finish.

One floor below the top floor was the parents' rooms, and a huge bathroom, which Bruno was absolutely not allowed to use. The next floor is Bruno's room, and then Gretel's room.There is also a smaller bathroom, which he actually uses less often than requested. The ground level, where he had to land on both feet when he slid to the end of the handrail.Here, the slide game is over and needs to be started all over again. The railing is the best thing about this house, plus the grandparents live very close.So Bruno couldn't help but wonder if his grandparents would move with his father's new job, but he thought they would, and they couldn't be left behind.Forget about Gretel, because she's a psycho—might as well leave her to look at the house.Grandparents, however, are a different story.

Bruno walked upstairs slowly, but before going into his room, he looked back downstairs and saw his mother walking into his father's office.Father's office was across from the restaurant, and his office was "off-limits, without exception" to those who were not invited.At this moment, Bruno heard his mother talking loudly to his father until his father's voice overshadowed his mother's, and then the conversation fell silent for a while.The door to his father's office was closed and Bruno couldn't hear anything, so he thought it best to go back to his room and watch Maria pack his things, otherwise she would take out everything in the wardrobe without thinking , including his personal belongings stashed in the back.

2. New house Bruno's eyes widened when he saw their new home for the first time, his mouth opened into an "O" shape, and his arms stretched out from his sides involuntarily.Everything here was the complete opposite of his previous home, and he could hardly believe they were going to live here. The Berlin home is on a quiet street with a few houses next to it, all of which look pretty, much like Bruno's but not quite.There were many children living in these houses, and Bruno would play with his friends, but Bruno would stay away from troublesome children.The new home, however, stood alone on a bare wasteland with no other houses in sight.That meant there were no other families around, and no kids to play with, not even troublesome kids he was trying to hide from.

Berlin's home is huge, and although he's lived there for nine years, he's still discovering new corners and mysterious holes, and his adventures aren't over yet.There was also a whole room—such as his father's study, a "no entry, without exception" place—that he almost never entered.However, the new home now has only three floors: the top floor has three bedrooms, but only one bathroom; The ground floor is where the servants live. Berlin's home is surrounded by streets and big houses. There are people walking leisurely in the city center, stopping to chat with each other from time to time; Do.There are also shops in Berlin with bright windows and greengrocers with tall shelves full of cabbages, carrots, cauliflower and corn.Some shelves were piled with leeks, mushrooms, and kale, others with celery and green beans, celery, and radishes.Sometimes, Bruno likes to stand in front of these shelves, close his eyes, and breathe deeply the aroma of vegetables. This mix of sweetness and life makes Bruno feel dizzy.But there were no streets around the new home, no people wandering or running amok, no shops, no greengrocers.When he closed his eyes, he could only feel the cold air, as if he was in the loneliest place in the world, a barren land.

In Berlin, tables and chairs would be set up along the street, and sometimes Bruno would walk home from school with Karl, Daniel, and Martin and he would see men and women sitting there drinking foamy drinks and laughing loudly.These people must be funny, Bruno thought, because no matter what was said, someone always laughed.But this new house gave Bruno the feeling that people never laughed here, that there was nothing to be funny about, and nothing to be happy about. "I think it's a bad idea," Bruno said hours after they arrived at their new home.Maria was upstairs, unpacking and arranging things. (Maria was not the only servant in the new home, there were three other scrawny servants who could only communicate with each other in soft voices. There was also an old man who prepared and served vegetables at the table every day. unhappy, and a little angry.)

"We can't ask for too much," said my mother, opening a box containing a set of sixty-four glasses, a wedding present from her grandparents when she married her father. decided." Bruno didn't know what she meant, so he just pretended he didn't hear her at all. "I think it's a bad idea to come here," he repeated. "I think the best thing to do is just forget about this bad idea and we'll go home right away. We're just adding another note to history." He used a new phrase he just learned and plans to use as often as possible in the future.

Mother smiled and carefully put the cup on the table. "I also have a phrase," she said, "we have to go with the flow." "Well, I don't think so," Bruno said, "I think you should tell your father you've changed your mind. If we have to spend the day here, have dinner here, and spend the night here, that's all right, because we're all very happy." Tired. But we'll probably have to get up early tomorrow so we can be back in Berlin by tea time." Mother sighed. "Bruno, can't you go upstairs and help Maria pack her things?" she asked.

"But there's no need to take things out, if we go back tomorrow..." "Bruno, hurry up and do as I say!" Mother interrupted Bruno angrily.Obviously, the mother had the right to interrupt Bruno, but not the other way around. "We're here to stay, it's our home for the foreseeable future, and we're just going to make it happen. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bruno couldn't understand what "the foreseeable future" meant, and told his mother his doubts. "That means we're staying here now, Bruno," said my mother. "There's nothing to discuss."

Bruno suddenly felt a pain in his stomach, he felt something in his body expand rapidly from the deepest part, it made him want to scream, he was going to say that the whole thing was wrong and unfair, that one day someone would do it for him. This terribly wrong decision paid the price, or he could only cry a lot.He didn't understand what was happening so suddenly.Once, he was perfectly happy with everything, playing at home, having three best friends, riding the slide on the banister, trying to tiptoe to see Berlin.But now, he was shut up in this cold and gloomy house, with only three whispering maids and a grumpy waiter, and there would be no happy people here anymore.

"Bruno, I want you to go upstairs now and get your things out and put them in order, I want you to go now," said the mother in an unfriendly tone.Knowing that his mother meant it, he turned and went upstairs without saying a word.He could feel the tears coming, but he was determined not to let his mother see them. He came upstairs and looked around for a week, hoping to see a small door or a small hole so that he could explore in the future.However, nothing.There are four doors on this floor, two on each side, facing each other.One door leads to Bruno's room, one to Gretel's, one to his parents', and one to the bathroom. "This is not a home, never will be." He murmured under his breath as he walked into the room, his clothes strewn across the bed, crates of toys and books he hadn't had time to unpack.Apparently, Maria did things out of order. "Mom asked me to help you," he said quietly.Maria nodded and pointed to a large bag containing his socks, vest and shorts. "You can sort them into categories and put them in the drawers of that cabinet." She said, pointing to an ugly cabinet next to a dusty mirror. Bruno sighed and opened the bag.It was full of his underwear, and all he wanted to do now was get in, and hope that when he crawled out, he was just having a dream and woke up and he was back home in Berlin. "What do you think of it here, Maria?" he asked after a long silence.He had always liked Maria and regarded her as part of the family, although his father thought she was just a maid who was overpaid. "Look at what?" she asked. "Here," he said, thinking he'd asked the question perfectly, "to come to a place like this. Don't you think we've made a big mistake?" "It is not for me to express my opinion, Master Bruno," said Maria, "your mother has already explained to you your father's work..." "Oh, I'm tired of hearing about his work," Bruno interrupted Maria, "that's what it sounds like, father's work this, father's work that. If father's work means we have to leave Home, away from my sliding rail, and three good friends, I think Dad would think twice, wouldn't he?" At this moment, there was a creaking sound outside the door. Bruno looked over and saw the door of his parents' room slightly opened.As if he was frozen, he couldn't move for a while.The mother is still downstairs, which means that the father is back, and he may have heard what Bruno said just now.He stared at the door, barely breathing, thinking that his father might soon come and take him downstairs for a stern lecture. The door slowly opened, a figure appeared, and Bruno stepped back.However, not the father.He is a man much younger than his father, and not as tall as his father, but he wears the same military uniform as his father, but he doesn't have as many medals.He looked serious, with his hat tightly buttoned on his head.Bruno could tell from his sideburns that he was blond, even unnaturally blond.He held a box in his hand and walked towards the stairs.But he paused for a moment when he saw Bruno standing there looking at him.He looked the child up and down, as if he had never seen a child before, and seemed to be hesitating what to do with him: pretend he didn't see him, or kick him off the stairs.Fortunately, he just gave Bruno a quick nod and continued on his way. "Who is he?" Bruno asked.The young man looked serious and busy, and Bruno thought he was someone important. "I think he was one of your father's soldiers," said Maria.When the man emerged, Maria stood upright, hands folded over her chest as if in prayer.But she was still staring at the floor, not looking at his face, as if she would turn to stone if she looked directly at him.It wasn't until he left that Maria breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll get to know them." "I don't think I like him," Bruno said, "he's too serious." "Your father is serious too," said Maria. "Yes, but he is the father," Bruno explained, "and a father should be serious. Whether he is the greengrocer, the teacher, the cook, or the commander." List the available occupations. "But I don't think that man was a father, though he looked very serious, too. I'm sure." "Because they have a serious job," Maria said with a sigh. "At least they think so. But if I were you, I'd avoid them." "I think so too," Bruno thought sadly. "I can't think of anyone else here to play with me besides Gretel, but what's the point of playing with her? She's just hopeless." He thought he was going to cry, but he finally held back, not wanting to look like a baby in front of Maria.He looked around his room, but kept his eyes on the ground, hoping to find something interesting.But there was nothing, at least he didn't find it.At this moment, something caught his sight.In the corner directly opposite the door there was a window in the ceiling that extended into the wall, sort of like the one on the top floor of the house in Berlin that used to be, only not as high.Bruno looked at the window, reckoning he could see through it without tiptoeing. He walked slowly towards the window, hoping that from this window he could see all that Berlin had: the houses, the street, the tables and chairs along the street, the people drinking frothy drinks and laughing around the tables and chairs.He walked slowly because he didn't want to be disappointed.However, this was just a little boy's room, and he walked to the window within a few steps.He pressed his face against the glass and looked out.This time, his eyes widened again, his mouth opened into an "O" again, and his arms stretched out from his sides again, as he felt cold and a little restless.